North Korea is more than just a nuclear threat

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un receives applause as he guides the multiple-rocket-launching drill of women's sub-units under KPA Unit 851, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) April 24, 2014. Reuters North Korea's nuclear capabilities and ambitions often make headlines, but recently the country has focused more on building national strength in more conventional, yet equally threatening ways.

At this Congress, the idea of Kim Jong Un's "byungjin," or a two-sided push toward economic and nuclear development, was discussed.

As Curtis Melvin, a researcher at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, explained: "Lots of people say that if they have a nuclear deterrent, they won't need conventional weapons ... But under the Kim Jong Un era, there has been a big increase in spending on the economic and conventional military side," The Washington Post notes.

Using satellite imagery, one of the few windows into the secretive nation, Melvin claims to have spotted construction indicating that a railway was coming to the Korean People's Army naval base and the shipyard at Wonsan.

According to North Korean media, Kim Jung Un has commented that the naval base would be useful for bolstering the economy.

Joseph S. Bermudez, an expert on North Korea's military, told The Washington Post: "I get a sense that when Kim Jong Un came to power, he looked around and said, 'We have all these old guys running things who haven't been in the field for 15 or 20 years. We need people who know what they're talking about.'"

"Before, you had leaders of special forces who couldn't run a mile. Now, we see artillery division commanders that actually have an artillery background," Bermudez continued.

A South Korean Marine, right, and US Marines aim their weapons near amphibious-assault vehicles during the US-South Korea joint-landing military exercises as a part of the annual joint military exercise Foal Eagle between South Korea and the US in Pohang, south of Seoul, South Korea, March 30, 2015. Lee Jin-man/AP

The North Korean dictatorship claims to have a military that is 1.2 million people strong with an "unlimited reach" from government to conscript citizens into service.

The threat from North Korea's conventional forces and nuclear forces has triggered nations around the world to tighten sanctions against the rogue nation and the US to engage in vigorous military exercises with South Korea, should the need for decisive action arise.